Why are low carb diets still popular?

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Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby Beaner » Wed Apr 01, 2015 11:24 am

I cant understand why, after all these years, and with the obesity epic getting worse and spreading around the world as people become more affluent and eat more meat, the bogus low carb (starch) diet is still so popular. Even most doctors have jumped on the bandwagon. You have to dig deep and go to an actual doctor or university website to find the low fat and meatless diets are still considered the best and low carb is not healthy :http://www.pcrm.org/media/good-medicine/2004/springsummer/the-controversy-over-dr-atkins-health.
The low fat and its cousin no meat diets are barely mentioned these days. In fact, try this yourself, type in 'low fat diet' on Google- and low carb comes up!? How can people think that eating tons of greasy pork, beef, and fried chicken is healthy compared to a starch based diet, which got humans to where we are now, and is still the diet of choice in Asian countries with low obesity rates. My friend from India said his Dad ate rice three times a day, and lived to his 90's. My friend eats a little lean chicken for meat, thats it, and is still working and looking fit as a fiddle ate 65! I almost feel like we 'McDougallers' and others that eat little fat and no meat (I am getting there), are the enlightened minority. The conspiracy theorist in me says that eating a starch based diet is not going to benefit anybody financially, except maybe for vegetable,wheat and rice farmers-power to them- but the low carb high meat diet is good for the shareholders of the big food and meat companies and their gross stockyards and meat 'factories'. I believe they have all conglomerated into just a few now, like Cargill and Tyson. They have the politicians in their pockets. Are there any vegetarian politicians in high places? Nope. People, read the facts, read the books, and realise the truth! Like Sartres said, "common sense is not that common'!
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby colonyofcells » Wed Apr 01, 2015 11:38 am

Low carb diets do cause weight loss altho probably won't help people live longer and might even be unhealthy. Most people are addicted to large amounts of animal products which are often used in low carb diets.
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby dteresa » Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:28 pm

Meat and dairy producers are only giving people what they want. And government subsidies help them do that. People have a taste for meat. In some Asian countries small live octopus is considered a delicacy and Vietnamese street markets sell skewered and cooked insects. It is unlikely that in this country, even if such foods were hugely subsidized, there would be many taking advantage of low prices.

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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby Demosthenes » Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:42 pm

Meat and fat are highly palatable. Most people gained weight eating highly palatable foods, it stands to reason that they would prefer to lose weight without giving up rich foods. I don't think there's any conspiracy to it at all. It's driven by taste preference and not wellness.
"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat 2,000 of something."- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby dailycarbs » Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:26 pm

Meat + cheese/dairy. That's all people hear or care to hear. Case closed.

By contrast, the food we eat and the way we prepare it is not something most people can get their heads around—much less actually think of attempting. Scraping a burger off the bun and discarding the bun, or substituting skinless chicken or fish for a fatty meat is something many people are willing to try—especially if they have health issues and it helps them lose weight. They think they're making a great sacrifice and will be rewarded with good health. They think they're doing the maximum effort. They've been duped—in no small part to their own desires to be given good news for their bad habits.
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby dteresa » Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:51 pm

I wonder if, besides really enjoying meat and dairy, there are social reasons, like in china where at one time only the poor ate brown rice and the rich ate the refined stuff. So to emulate the rich, when it became available, everyone only wanted white rice.

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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby mikeg » Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:58 pm

I heard Dr. Klaper once say "You will lose weight on low carb diets- at the expense of your long term health."
Yep, lose water weight and stuff your arteries with clogging grease.

A week or two ago Dr. Barnard was on one of the morning talk/news show and one of the talking heads mentioned a book (I can not remember the real name of the book) titles something like "Meat and Cheese are back in and good for you." Dr. Barnard just said "That is a great title if you are interested in selling a lot of books."

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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby VegMommy » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:10 pm

There's a whole new crop of low carb doctors and dieters out there, in Australia and South Africa. It's all about the "fat-adapted athlete". And they're fit-looking, not like Jimmy Moore.

Personally, it didn't work for me and McDougall does. But it's not about ideology for me, just results. Maybe some people's physiology is better suited to low carb.
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby f1jim » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:39 pm

Low carb diets will ALWAYS have their adherents. Easy is also a human trait.
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While adopting this diet and lifestyle program I have reversed my heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and lost 54 lbs. You can follow my story at https://www.drmcdougall.com/james-brown/
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby VegMommy » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:51 pm

f1jim wrote:Low carb diets will ALWAYS have their adherents. Easy is also a human trait.
f1jim


For me, "easy" is potatoes and rice. I dislike meat and absolutely HATE eggs, yet I tried lowcarb because I thought it would help me.
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby f1jim » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:54 pm

The food part can be very easy. It's the social pressures that are much tougher to deal with for many. Families and friends can touch our buttons in very sensitive ways.
Yep, this really is comfort foods. When one gives up the mental struggle and sees that this program becomes a walk in the park. Not so easy to try to explain that to others that view things differently. But thriving and healing sure help with that.
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While adopting this diet and lifestyle program I have reversed my heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and lost 54 lbs. You can follow my story at https://www.drmcdougall.com/james-brown/
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby VegMommy » Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:29 pm

f1jim wrote:The food part can be very easy. It's the social pressures that are much tougher to deal with for many. Families and friends can touch our buttons in very sensitive ways.
f1jim


Also, not my experience. I've never had trouble explaining why I didn't eat meat. Bread and pasta, however...that was a whole different thing! The first time I went on a low carb diet, people were shocked. It was 2004, and the general reaction was "What?!? You're eating the burger and not the bun? That's crazy!" LOL.

I've gone to a steakhouse with a group of friends and ordered a salad with no dressing and two baked potatoes and no one lifted an eyebrow (after I explained I was "on a diet"). When I was on a lowcarb diet and ate steak and salad but didn't touch the bread basket or the potatoes, however, everyone wanted to know why. Also, bread, cookies and cakes seem to be a big part of every holiday. I've never found meat, eggs and cheese to be that important.

Maybe it's where we live?
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby dailycarbs » Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:14 pm

VegMommy wrote:The first time I went on a low carb diet, people were shocked. It was 2004, and the general reaction was "What?!? You're eating the burger and not the bun? That's crazy!" LOL.



I remember as far as back the early 1990s (and it probably goes back before that), people ordering steaks with salad—no bread or croutons—at restaurants. They even got me to try the diet on a bet back then but I didn't eat meat even then, so I ate fish instead of meat. In less than 24 hours, I quit and I told them all that they were nuts. Yes, in less than 24 hours my body was reading me the riot act already. I don't need no fancy book learnin' to know when my body is under stress and to please stop before it does it for me. :D

Point is, Atkins was full blown mainstream already way before 2004 and I think that what you relate is your personal experience and not the status quo. The thing is, hardly anyone keeps it up but it peaks and wanes with each passing fad and some modifications have been made (such as heavy doses of greens added lately).
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby greenteen » Thu Apr 02, 2015 4:57 pm

Honestly, I blame the meat and dairy industry. The government subsidizes them and tells us that it's better to eat animal products. So people fall for it, buy dead animals, and therefore profit the animal industry. which pretty much sucks for everyone but the animal industries...
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Re: Why are low carb diets still popular?

Postby Dougalling » Sat Apr 04, 2015 5:36 am

Low carb diets are popular because people cheat.
They drink alchohol and they have sweet deserts.
Then they have all sorts of high fat low carb foods for their meals.
Most who say they are on low carb diets are not.
That is why the population is getting fatter and fatter every year.
It's especially sad for the kids who learn that low carb is the normal way to eat.
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